Slide Show: “Read My Pins”

This week in the magazine, Lauren Collins writes about Madeleine Albright’s new book, “Read My Pins.” Albright, who served as the first female Secretary of State under President Clinton, was fond of using jewelry to express herself on the job. Collins writes, “A stalled negotiation might have elicited from her jewelry box a tortoise in lapis lazuli; a friendly summit, the dandelion with a moonstone for its puff; a contentious encounter, a turquoise wasp or a copper-pincered crab.” Starting on September 30th, the Museum of Arts and Design will feature an exhibit of the collection, which includes the beautiful pieces in the slide show below.

An eighteen-carat gold snake coiled around a branch, with a diamond dangling from its mouth. Albright angered Saddam Hussein by criticizing his refusal to coöperate with weapons inspectors. In response, the Iraqi press called her an “unparalleled serpent.” Albright told Collins, “I had this snake pin, so I thought it would be really fun to wear it when we did Iraq things.”